


Taxi Driver

by Monstacatz



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Hell, M/M, Pre-Slash, Rescue, so far anyways
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-19
Updated: 2019-02-10
Packaged: 2019-05-25 12:30:11
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,754
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14977196
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Monstacatz/pseuds/Monstacatz
Summary: What if Sam had found Gabriel when he was in Hell to save Bobby’s soul for the Trials?Alternative version of 8x19 Taxi Driver.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! This idea got stuck in my head and wouldn’t leave so I had to write it. I couldn’t stop thinking about how Gabriel was being tortured as the show was happening and that Sam being down there was the perfect thing to fix it.
> 
> Hope you like it!

Sam had one goal. Get in, get Bobby and get out. Only, when he made the transition from the strange forest of Purgatory to the long winding corridors of Hell, he got his priorities a bit jumbled.

Each cell he passed full of prisoners begging him for help chipped away at his conscience until he started wishing he had let Dean come with him after all so he could force him to stay on the task at hand.

Hands over his ears to block out the screams he stumbled down another lengthy passage, trying to ignore the voice in his head whispering that 24 hours was more than enough time to just save Bobby’s soul. 

The pale face of a girl crowded up to the opening in a cell beside him. ‘You came. I knew you would.’ The words were mechanical and haunting, and even as Sam tried to explain that no, he wasn’t who she thought he was, she repeated herself as if stuck in a loop, earnest look on her face.

He backed away slowly and continued on his way down the hall.

‘Even if you could stop and save some of them, there’s no way of telling who belongs down here and who doesn’t!’ He muttered to himself, tearing his eyes away from the exposed flesh of a man who’d had his skin torn off. 

‘Just find Bobby and-’ He froze mid-self-reassuring sentence when his ears picked up a familiar scream in the never-ending chorus around him as he rounded yet another corner in the maze that was Hell. 

He’d been right when he’d thought he’d never forget that sound, sitting in that hotel chair in a room full of pagan gods as Kali- no. Now was not the time. He had to weigh his options.

It couldn’t be him, it was impossible. He’d died, years ago. But could he take the risk and leave him behind if it turned out he was being held, prisoner? Sam hastily checked the time, he had 17 hours left.

He could swing a little detour he decided hurriedly as another anguished shout pierced the air. The hallway he was in ended abruptly at a wall with a skeleton chained to it and Sam paused momentarily to listen out for another sound to direct him on which path to take.

Another scream cemented his choice and he didn’t have an inch of headspace to spare to the thought that he might not be able to find his way back to the exit.

Eventually, he came to a stop outside a large iron door that was covered in rust tucked at the very end of a corridor. 

He pulled out the demon-killing blade and listened closely for anything that would confirm his suspicions.

Not even thirty seconds into him standing there he heard footsteps approaching the door from the other side and cursed under his breath. Had the demons on the other side sensed him? Or were they leaving their charge for a while? This could be his shot.

He scrambled away from the foreboding iron and back the way he had come, stopping three doors down from the room and testing a metal door that seemed to be open. 

He closed it behind him as quietly as he could and turned to survey the cell he was now in. He didn’t even have the chance to catch his breath before he was whacked across the jaw by a well-aimed fist.

‘Bobby?’ He looked up at the old hunter as he brought a hand up to rub his jaw.

‘Get the hell out of here, you black-eyed son of a bitch.’

 

‘What? Bobby, it's Sam!’.He protested, guard up in case another punch came.

 

‘Yeah, and I'm Elvis.’ The older man replied sarcastically.

‘If it's not Sam then how do I know all about you and Tori Spelling? Or -- or, uh okay. What about your free pedicure at the Mall of America? You made Dean swear to never tell another living soul how it changed your life.’ Bobby’s face cleared and he pulled Sam into a tight hug.

 

‘Sam? I'm sorry, Sam, but you're the 200th Sam I've seen today. That's how they screw with me.’ 

‘Don’t sweat it. I’m here to bust you out, Bobby. You don’t belong down here.’ He edged closer to the door again, peeking out just in time to see a white-suited demon with a scarred face at the door of the room down the end. 

‘Now you be good, boy. I’ll be back for you later.’ He drawled, shoving the door closed but not bothering to lock it. 

Sam suddenly doubted his suspicions. If the prisoner in that room was who he thought it was, leaving him in an unlocked room after torturing him would surely be one of the stupidest decisions that demon had ever made.

But his smug face didn’t have a trace of worry on it as he walked away, not even recognizing that there was a new face glaring out at him from the wall of cells.

‘Boy, have you been listening to a word I’ve said?’ Bobby growled, shaking him out of his thoughts. 

‘What? Sorry Bobby, no. Could you wait here a second? I need to check something out.’

‘Wait here my ass, Sam. This is Hell, not the parking lot of a Gas N’ Sip. What’s got you so distracted?’  
Sam sighed and dropped his voice to a whisper. ‘Do you know anything about the prisoner in the end cell of this corridor?’

Bobby looked at him weirdly. ‘Nothing other than the fact that that same demon, Asmo something or other, come down here every day to torture him real bad. He’s pretty vocal. If you ask me, I think the sick fuck likes that.’ Bobby trailed off thoughtfully. ‘Although about five minutes before you crashed in here, the screams stopped dead. I thought that was pretty odd. What’s your interest in him?’

Sam went cold at the implications of a sudden silence and thinking back he realized Bobby was right, that other than the demon leaving there’d been no noise from that room since he’d used that last scream to navigate which path to take.

‘I think I might know who it is.’ He called over his shoulder, the pit in his stomach growing as he pulled open the creaking metal of the cell’s door and stepping back out into the hall.

‘Well then let’s check it out boy, that white-suit-wearing weirdo never leaves him alone for long so we ain’t got a lotta time.’ Bobby said, nudging him with his elbow and he sidled out of the door frame.

They moved down the hall cautiously, in step with each other. As they came to a stop outside it Bobby nodded to Sam and turned around to keep watch.

As quietly as possible Sam shifted the heavy door, wincing as it made several creaks of protest. He didn’t bother opening it fully, slipping through when the gap was wide enough to allow him.

The lights were low inside the room and Sam surveyed the space warily. He moved around the perimeter with his back to the wall, aware that he could be wrong about who and what was being held in here.

His shoe scuffed against something and he bent down to pick it up. It was a feather, too large to be from a bird. An angel's feather; and it was bright gold. 

He blew out a breath, still trying to squash his hopes. When he turned the feather over and caught the sight of the dried blood caking the other side, he replaced the emotion with anger.

Taking a few steps further into the room he braced himself against disappointment and swept his gaze all around the chamber again. ‘Gabriel?’ He called out, voice low. ‘If you’re in here, it’s Sam Winchester. I’m not going to hurt you.’ 

He half expected the witty angel to appear in front of him with a snort and some line about liking to see him try, but all he heard was a muffled grunt from deeper in the room. 

He moved in that direction quickly, pulling out a torch and shining it along the ground to keep his footing as the light faded out further.

The beam of light stuttered over a pair of bare and dirty feet and Sam halted a few yards in front of them, flicking the torch up further to reveal filthy clothes and hands clenched around a pair of shaking knees. When the light threw Gabriel’s familiar if scared face into sharp relief Sam dropped slowly to a crouch next to him.

‘Gabriel? It’s Sam, Sam Winchester. Do you recognize me?’

The archangel looked up and the angle of the beam moved across his features, bringing to light the crude and bloody stitches that now sealed his mouth shut and hindered any replies.

The wounds around the threads were still weeping blood and Sam had to fight down the bile in his throat. If he had just been quicker-

Gabriel nodded warily and uncurled enough to scan Sam for any obvious weapons. Content with the sight of the demon blade and nothing else he sat up a little further.

‘Great, can you walk? We’re gonna get you out of here.’

Gabriel tried to open his mouth to respond, the raw state of his lips seeming to have slipped his mind. The attempt to part his lips tugged harshly on the fresh wounds and he yelped sharply as the threads did their job. 

Instead, he miserably nodded again. Sam got to his feet and offered the angel a hand, pulling him up easily as he accepted. He weighed almost nothing, not a good sign.

After a few fumbling steps Sam offered his arm for Gabriel to support himself on and headed towards their grumbling guard dog.

Sam let Gabriel slip out of the door first then closed it as quietly as possible behind him.

‘You find who you were lookin’ for, Sam?’ Bobby asked, eyeing Gabriel and his current state skeptically. ‘Or is this just a stray you’re takin’ pity on?’

Sam huffed in annoyance and pulled Gabriel’s arm to get him moving again as they started their journey back through the halls. He hadn’t reacted much to Bobby’s comment apart from a slight scowl.

‘Bobby, this is the Archangel Gabriel.’ He looked back at the angel trailing behind him and shot him a brief smile, designed to reassure. ‘And he’s exactly who I was looking for.’


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, I'm back again! Hope you guys like this chapter :)

Maybe it was just the dirt covering Gabriel and the weird choice of clothing but whatever it was that kept Bobby from noticing that the angel behind them had once been the Trickster, Sam was thankful for. 

He didn’t remember ever having explained to Bobby that the Gabriel who’d saved them in the Elysian Fields hotel was also the Trickster, and he didn’t think getting into that now while they were creeping through the halls of Hell would benefit anyone.

In any case, the older man seemed to have remembered enough about Gabriel’s sacrifice that he was keeping his mouth shut about Sam bringing him along on his rescue mission.

‘How much further is it, boy? Your stray ain’t gonna last much longer.’ Bobby commented. 

Sam frowned and looked around to see for himself. Gabriel was much further down the hall, leaning on the wall to hold himself up. Sam could have hit himself for not noticing, too caught up in worrying about Bobby wanting to leave him behind that he almost did it himself. 

He smiled sheepishly at Bobby in thanks and headed back down to get the angel. 

‘Gabriel?’ The man’s head shot up from where he was staring at the floor to get the placement of his feet right and Sam caught the look of fear in his eyes before it dissipated. ‘Come on.’ He held out his arm again and Gabriel begrudgingly grabbed it. 

He could tell it was killing him to have to accept help from the human he had once manipulated so easily with his power. That train of thought then led him to wonder, not for the first time since seeing the state Gabriel was in, what exactly had happened to his grace. It wasn’t like he could ask him now, not while they were all still in danger and certainly not while those fresh stitches still kept him silent.

While having something for the angel to hold on to definitely sped up the journey, Bobby’s insistent grumbling didn’t let up. Worried it would echoed and draw attention and also sick to death of hearing it Sam gave in and stopped.

‘What do you want me to do about it, Bobby? I know you want to get out of this place, I do too, but he’s badly hurt and he can’t go any faster.’ 

Sam tried to ignore that Gabriel was glaring up at him, focusing instead on the man in front of him whose scowl was much stronger. 

‘Then carry him! I don’t want to be caught and shoved back into a cell because of an archangel with a limp, and I doubt he wants to be reacquainted with that Asmodeus demon either, so if we could just get a move on that would be great.’ Bobby whisper-yelled. He threw out a hand for emphasis, pointing back the way they had come to their cells, and the jolt of movement in his direction sent Gabriel into a panic. 

He took a stumbling step back from Bobby and whimpered, shaking his head with his eyes screwed shut. He then pressed in against Sam’s side, the grip on his arm tightening, the hands there shaking. To say the hunter was shocked at the reaction would be an understatement. 

This was nothing like the Gabriel who’d always had a cocky smirk and a witty comeback readily available in the face of any problem, this Gabriel was beaten and afraid and his mask was slipping. 

Sam looked down at him in alarm and then wide-eyed at Bobby, who shrugged. At least he had the decency to look ashamed with himself for causing such a reaction.

‘Gabriel?’ No reaction. ‘C’mon, we’re nearly out, just a bit further.’ Nothing. He carefully pried the fingers off of his arm, which drew out another sound of distress, and turned to face the angel, blocking Bobby from his view. He held onto his wrists loosely since the angel hadn’t tried to snatch them back and bent down a little to try even out the difference in height. 

‘Can you look at me?’ A short exhale of air from his nose was the closest thing Gabriel could do to laugh as he turned his face up and met Sam’s eyes. Sam blinked in surprise, not expecting it to be so easy. 

‘Ok, good. Do you trust me?’ Not the best question to ask seeing as the Winchester’s history with the Trickster was rocky at best, but he was going somewhere with it.

Gabriel raised an eyebrow at him and see-sawed his hand back and forth, the universal sign for ‘ehhh, not really’. 

‘Do you trust me to get you out of here?’ The angel considered him for a second then sighed and nodded. 

‘Great, then let's go.’ Without any further warning, Sam braced himself and scooped the shorter man up into his arms. He knew it wasn’t the most considerate thing to do to a torture victim and given any more time he’d have asked permission first but they really had to go before the clock ran out.

Gabriel’s eyes went wide and he yelped behind his stitches but no blows fell on Sam, much to his surprise. ‘Sorry.’ He whispered as he started walking quickly ahead of Bobby, not sparing a glance downwards at the angel. ‘It’s faster this way.’ He felt the sharp jerk of a nod against his chest and allowed himself a small smile. 

The relief at Gabriel’s co-operation and the smoothness of the mission so far didn’t last long though, because while they made it out of Hell without a hitch, once they reached Purgatory Sam’s guide was nowhere to be found.

‘What's going on, Sam?’ Bobby asked, eyeing the younger hunter as he looked around worriedly and checked his watch. He put Gabriel down and had him lean against the tree roots as he paced.

‘This is it. This is the place. I'm sure of it.’ Sam kicked at the head of a monster at his feet, the same one he’d killed on his way in, and pulled out his watch.

‘Where your cabbie's supposed to meet you?’ Bobby asked, a frown pulling at his face too.

‘Yeah. At exactly... now.’ Sam glared at the face of his watch for a few seconds longer then slipped it back in his pocket. 

‘So, he's running a little late.’ Bobby joked, hoping to lighten the mood. After all, what difference could a few minutes make?

‘No, see, that's the thing. He was very specific, Bobby, like, to the minute.’ Sam looked less annoyed and more worried by the second.

‘And if he doesn't show...?’ The older hunter pushed.

‘We’ve got no way out.’ Sam said, eyes drifting worriedly to the archangel hunched over himself a few feet away. 

He couldn’t stop thinking about how easy it would be for Asmodeus to track them here and steal him back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading, comments and kudos are always appreciated!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay I'm sure you all hate me now for not updating this for like six months but heres a chapter now! And I'm definitley aiming for another one soon so bear with me and I hope you guys still enjoy this fic!

It was now five minutes past the non-negotiable time the reaper had told Sam to meet him at. 

Bobby was pacing a few feet away from Sam to the right, a mixture of angry and worried. 

But Sam was more concerned with the person to his right. Gabriel had slid down against the tree and was now sitting in the same position Sam had found him in, hunched over with his knees against his chest and his arms wrapped around them. The only difference was that this time he kept his head up and was watching Sam and Bobby carefully.

Sam checked his watch one last time and sighed heavily. He wasn’t coming. 

Aiming to distract himself with something more useful than worrying, unlike Bobby, he took the few steps necessary to close the distance between himself and the angel sitting among the leaves.

Gabriel visibly tensed as he moved towards him, but his face stayed calm. Sam held his empty hands out in front of him as proof that he meant no harm and nodded to the space next to the angel, silently asking his permission to sit.

Gabriel thought about it and then gave the smallest nod. Sam smiled brightly at him and slowly lowered himself to the ground beside him. 

He was trying to get comfortable when he caught some movement out of the corner of his eye. Gabriel was waving his hands around in front of himself. 

Sam turned towards the angel and frowned. ‘What are you doing?’ 

Gabriel huffed a breath through his nose at the hunter and glared at him, shaking his head.

Bobby had stopped pacing at that point and the conversation had caught his attention, or rather his eye. 

‘That’s sign language boy, and here I was thinking you were supposed to be the smart one.’ The older hunter said to Sam. Then he turned his attention to Gabriel. ‘Go again, I didn’t catch that first part.’

Gabriel looked at Sam smugly and signed, ‘Do you have anything I can use to take these stitches out?’ to Bobby, who translated out loud for Sam.   
‘Oh, right. That makes sense,’ Sam patted down the pockets of his jeans and came up with a small penknife. ‘Here, will this work?’

Gabriel sized it up and nodded, taking it from the hunter. He looked back up to Bobby and signed a quick ‘thank you’ before opening it out and bringing it up to his mouth.

Another five minutes passed and Sam couldn’t watch the angel try and fail to saw through the sutures any longer. The thread seemed quite strong and all the pulling and tugging Gabriel had done trying to get through them had torn the puncture wounds open further.

‘Gabriel, stop.’

He fiddled with the knife for a few seconds more in vain, almost as if to prove he didn’t actually have to listen to Sam, before slumping in defeat and handing the knife over to him.

Sam took it with a smile and shifted around to get closer to the angel. 

‘I’m not gonna lie and say that this isn’t going to hurt, so brace yourself.’

Gabriel went to roll his eyes but it morphed into a flinch as Sam got to work on the first stitch. It hurt less than when he was trying to do it himself but it still wasn’t exactly pleasant.

Bobby looked on for a minute or two and then turned around without a word to keep watch. There was nothing else he could be doing if Sam was right and their only way out had just fallen through.

What felt like an eternity to Gabriel, but was realistically only a few minutes, later Sam was finally working on the last stitch.

He would never admit it to Gabriel, but he had been going slower than usual when removing them because of the pain on his face. It scared him to see an archangel so hurt.

‘There, done.’ He wiped any blood off of the blade of the pen knife and his jeans and returned it to his pocket.

Gabriel’s hand flew up to his mouth as if to check that he was telling the truth and he opened and closed his mouth a few times, working his jaw and the stiff muscles.

‘You know, if you had’ve had a mirror I would’ve been able to do that myself.’ He croaked. 

Sam laughed at him in surprise, glad to see his improvement in attitude even from his cell to here. He was still himself underneath his trauma, not all of his snarky personality had been lost. 

It just might take a while for him to recover all the way, but who better than a group of hunters to understand that sentiment.

‘Thanks anyway though.’ Gabriel almost whispered. He was looking down and picking at the loose threads on his ragged trousers. Avoiding eye contact at all costs.

Sam didn’t want to embarass him any further so he just looked up at him and nodded, smile on his face. ‘You’re welcome.’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for reading! Comments and kudos are alway appreciated and might actually finally get me to write! (which is what happened today, I felt too guilty)

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Comments and kudos are much appreciated :)  
> Edit: I should probably say I’m planning on possibly continuing this, so stay tuned if you liked it!


End file.
